Annie Reborn
by Ambrant Arandel
Summary: A woman from Robin's past surfaces. What will her appearance mean to the blossoming relationship between Robin, Raven, and Starfire?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: **I do not own the Teen Titans. If I did, 'Things Change' would have never been broadcast. In the words of Adam Savage, "I reject your reality and substitute my own". For those of you who have read the other two stories in my 'Re' series, this is the new installment. It took me a while, but I finally tracked down 'Growing Pains' from the animated adventures of Batman and Robin so I could finally write this little ficlet to my satisfaction. Special thanks to 'Sussinator' from YouTube for posting the episode so I could finally lay this one to rest.**

Annie Reborn

A Teen Titans Fanfiction

Prologue.

Raven headed for the living room. Robin wasn't in his room and she couldn't find him anywhere else in the tower. She was expecting a challenge from Starfire later that day and she really wanted to get in some good cuddle time before she had to give up her boyfriend to her 'kundogi'.

Raven paused before going into the living room and turning on the light. Ever since she'd caught Terra and Beast Boy in the middle of one of their late night make out sessions, she was more careful when coming into the living room. She and Robin were the only two usually up at this hour, but still she didn't want to take any chances. Sensing no one there, she turned on the light and looked around. Nothing caught her attention and she was about to leave when she noticed that there was a video message.

Raven pressed the button and the monitor in the living room came to life revealing some sort of lab. A young black haired girl looked back at her from the screen.

"Robin, please! If you get this message, please come as quickly as you can! I need your help! It's Slade! He's got my father!" The young girl cried desperately looking around. "He's returned! I've got to go!"

Raven checked the message playback. It had been viewed once before. Robin must have gotten the message and taken off without the rest of them… again. Raven emptied herself and tried to sense the boy wonder. He was too far away. She sighed and went to get Cyborg. She was going to need to track Robin's communicator for this one.

* * *

Chapter 1.

Cyborg tapped on his instruments as the T-Car raced through the streets. He had a fix on Robin's position, somewhere outside the city in an old industrial park. He looked over briefly at the other occupants and wondered not for the first time how the group was going to survive.

Beast Boy and Terra were on assignment with the Titans East trying to track down some sort of genetic experiment that had gotten loose and run off into the mountains. They needed Beast Boy's tracking abilities and Terra tagged along for support. Cyborg was happy for his friend, but he really wondered how long Beast Boy was going to stay in the tower. Much longer and he suspected the little green guy would go solo, or in the case of Terra, duo.

The two other Titans now with him in the car were a different story. He really didn't understand all the ins and outs of this alien love triangle that Robin had gotten himself into and he really didn't want to find out. Robin was going to have to figure this one out on his own.

Starfire and Raven were obviously upset. The two hadn't said a word the entire trip. Cyborg could tell from Star's crossed arms and Rae's impatient foot tapping that they were both angry and not at each other. He decided he was going to go out on patrol after this to someplace safe, like the nearest war zone. One girlfriend angry with you could suck, two girlfriends angry at you simultaneously was lethal even when you weren't dealing with two teenage girls with the combined power of an A-bomb.

"I'm sure he's alright." Cyborg said looking in his rear view mirror.

"You said she looked cute?" Starfire said ignoring the comment.

"Yes." Raven said looking calm.

Cyborg noticed a trash can explode with dark energy as they raced by.

"I wonder why he would not get the rest of us to help him on a mission like this?" Starfire said to no one in particular.

"Well, it _is_ Slade. You know how he gets about Slade." Cyborg offered.

Two sets of eyes stared back at Cyborg as he felt his life passing before his eyes. For a brief moment, the team was no more and Cyborg found himself classified in the same category as Robin under 'men'. After what seemed like an eternity the glares seemed to soften.

"He _does_ get obsessed with Slade." Starfire said uncertainly.

"He's still got some explaining to do though." Raven added.

"Definitely." Starfire agreed.

Cyborg merely sighed and pushed a little harder on the accelerator. He felt sorry for Robin when they got there, but he didn't want to be around two very ticked of super girls any longer than absolutely necessary.

The T-Car finally stopped outside of an old run down factory outside the city. Cyborg looked down at his tracking device, but Raven was already on it. "He's close by."

The three titans walked quietly into the dock entrance of the factory looking around carefully. They hadn't heard anything from Slade since the incident with Trigon, and were hoping that they would never hear from him again, but sadly it didn't seem that this was going to be the case.

A scream and an explosion brought Cyborg's attention to a series of large storage tanks. There on a catwalk above them, Cyborg could just make out the form of Robin fending off attacks from Slade as he tried to protect a young black haired girl behind him.

Cyborg let loose a barrage from his sonic cannon and the two airborne members of the team flew immediately into action. Cyborg watched as the two women raced upward, but whether it was to attack Slade or Robin, Cyborg wasn't about to venture a guess.

The machine man raced toward the ladder leading up to the catwalk just as a series of explosions announced Raven and Starfire's arrival into the fray above him. He climbed as swiftly as he could on the narrow ladder until he finally reached the top where Slade was giving all three of his friends a run for their money. The young girl cowered, terrified of what was going on.

"Cyborg, get her out of here!" Robin commanded. Cyborg nodded, but the girl seemed reluctant to depart.

"Robin, please!" The young woman begged.

"I lost you once, I'm not losing you ever again. Cyborg, NOW!" Robin cried as he dodged an attack from Slade.

Cyborg looked down at the legion of Slade's henchmen robots as they rallied for their attack. He quickly grabbed the girl and threw her over his shoulder. He then looked up at Raven and Starfire who were fighting with renewed ferocity. _Robin, regardless of how this battle ends, you are SO dead. _Cyborg thought as he jumped down to the floor with the girl slung over his shoulder.

More explosions started rocking the facility as Cyborg ran for the exit. Fires were starting to flare everywhere and he did not intend to let this girl get hurt. He made the exit just in time to look back and see Robin pursuing Slade out a different exit with Starfire and Raven hot on his heels.

With his friends clear of the building, Cyborg ducked through the door just as flames consumed the area behind him. He didn't stop until he reached the T-Car.

"Stay here!" He commanded the girl, as he turned to run back toward the burning building.

"Please, you've got to get my father! He's still in there!" The young woman pleaded.

Cyborg nodded and headed back for the factory just as the wall collapsed. He stood there looking around trying to find another way in, but nothing presented itself. Behind him the girl shook as she looked at the flames.

"Do you think my father is still alive?" She asked quietly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's alright." Cyborg said trying to comfort the girl.

"That's what I'm afraid of." The girl said as she trembled.

Cyborg looked at the girl in disbelief wondering what she meant as Robin joined him with Raven and Starfire in tow. "Slade got away."

"Robin! You're safe!" The young girl said as she jumped up and raced to throw her arms around the boy wonder. Cyborg noticed the dangerous looks coming from Starfire and Raven and decided that 'safe' in this case was a relative term.

Robin however was oblivious to this, his arms clutching the girl tightly to him. "It's alright Annie, I'm here. You've nothing to worry about anymore." Robin said soothingly.

_Guess again._ Cyborg thought wryly.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced." Raven said pointedly.

"Oh, yeah." Robin said sheepishly. "This is Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg. Guys, meet Annie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Annie said politely.

"Charmed." Starfire and Raven said in unison, their faces telling an entirely different story.

"Might I suggest we take this party back to the tower? It would probably be much safer there." Cyborg suggested.

"Good idea, Cyborg, Annie would be safer there. I'll take Annie on my cycle. I'll meet you there." Robin said happily.

'I was thinking of the safety of the innocent bystanders'. Cyborg thought as he watched the two female titans getting more irritated by the moment watching Robin as he climbed onto his cycle with Annie wrapping her arms around him from behind. It was going to be a LONG trip back to the tower.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Raven's foot was tapping menacingly when Robin pulled into the garage at Titan's tower. She also noted that Starfire had her arms crossed like she was royally peeved. Cyborg had made record time getting them back to the tower and then politely excused himself to go check on Beast Boy and Terra… in person.

"Welcome to Titan's Tower." Robin said expansively as he got off the cycle.

Raven and Starfire closed in on their boyfriend and Raven began preparing her interrogation of the girl while Starfire prepared the tirade for Robin.

"You're not traveling with Batman anymore?" Annie asked in confusion.

"Not for a while now." Robin said smiling. "Come on, we'll go find you a room to stay in."

Both Raven and Starfire were getting ready to object when Annie broke in. "Robin, there's no time for that! Slade still has my father. We've got to find him before it's too late."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked seriously.

"Slade is trying to build an army, and he's going to use my father's powers to do it." Annie said desperately.

Robin let out a low whistle and Raven glanced uncertainly at Starfire. The two girls glanced to each other and nodded. Their browbeating of Robin would have to wait until the current crisis was over. They'd each seen what damage Slade could do with a powerful army.

"So, do you know where Slade might have taken your father after his base collapsed?" Robin asked.

"I don't know. He never bothered with me much. I think he forgot he had me in a holding cell." Annie said shivering.

To the dismay of the two female titans, Robin put his arm around Annie's shoulders in comfort. "Don't worry, I have a pretty good idea of how to track him down. Come inside."

Raven followed after Robin and this girl, which he still hadn't stopped holding, and mutely vowed to make Robin's next few days particularly uncomfortable. Starfire looked ready to chew through steel.

Robin led them to the medical bay where he got out a syringe. "I'll just take a quick sample." Annie held out her arm and Robin stuck in the syringe. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"Of course not silly, but why do you need a sample?" Annie said with a giggle.

"Batman discovered that you and your father have a few unique elements in your physiology. I should be able to figure out where Slade has your father using this." Robin said seriously. "Raven, Starfire, could you stay here with Annie while I go analyze this."

"I would be happy to." Starfire said dangerously as Robin cluelessly smiled as he turned to leave.

"Robin." Annie said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"I'm really happy to see you again. I've missed you." Annie said sweetly.

"I'm happy to see you too." Robin said with a smile. "I'll be right back."

As the boy wonder left, Raven got ready to interrogate the girl. "So… how do you know Robin?"

"Oh, we met a long time ago. I first met him when he saved me from a gang of bikers." Annie said shyly.

Raven and Starfire nodded sagely. They'd each seen any number of girls fawn over Robin for similar acts of heroism. "So tell me, what was Slade doing holding you captive?"

"My father was concerned that I'd try to escape and get help. He had Slade imprison me so that I couldn't get away to cause trouble." Annie said fearfully.

"So your father is in league with Slade?" Starfire asked aghast.

Annie nodded sadly. "He's helping Slade build an army using his powers, powers I share. I still can't use my powers as well as my father though. I was trapped in that cell for a long time until I finally began to figure out my powers enough to be able to escape."

Raven sighed, great, another super heroine competing for Robin's affection. "So how did you know to get in contact with Robin?"

"Slade keeps track of the whereabouts of all of his enemies. I got to his control room after I escaped and I found Robin's name on his console. It took me a while, but I finally figured out a way to contact him using Slade's equipment. I was so happy when I saw he was alright." Annie said with a warm relieved smile. "I was so worried that my father had killed him. The last time I saw Robin, he and Batman were fighting my father. For a long time I didn't know what happened to him. I know he always thought that he failed me, but in the end it was he that saved me."

Raven was now quite confused. "You mean you were separated from Robin during the fight, and yet he still saved you?"

"Yes. My father had never given me an identity. Robin gave that to me. He named me 'Annie' when he found me. I was alone, scared, and on the run from my father. That simple act made me think of myself as a person, apart from my father. It's all that's kept me sane all these years. You have no idea how happy I was when Slade separated me from my father." Annie said shivering.

"Have you ever kissed him?" Starfire asked darkly.

"Pardon?" Annie asked.

"Have you ever kissed Robin?" Starfire asked seriously.

"Just once, why do you ask?" Annie said looking confused.

Starfire was about to reply when Robin returned to the room with a map printout. "I think I found them. If Slade is trying to raise an army with your father's powers, this is where they'll have to do it. It's the only place that has all the resources he'll need."

"Let's get going!" Annie said excitedly.

"No, Annie. I don't want to risk losing you again, especially if we're going up against your father." Robin said stubbornly.

"Robin, I'm not the same girl you knew. I've learned how to use my powers a little now. I can take care of myself." Annie said patiently.

"I still don't like it." Robin said crossing his arms.

"You'll get over it." Annie said rubbing his cheek warmly. Raven expected to have to pull Starfire off the girl, but the alien was strangely subdued.

"Whatever the case we'd best get going. We'll meet you there Robin." Starfire said turning to leave. Raven jumped to follow after her.

Robin's cycle sped below them with the boy wonder and Annie riding behind him. Raven flew silently next to Starfire and finally couldn't hold in the question any longer.

"What's with the kissing question?" Raven asked.

Starfire did not answer for a long time. "On my planet, there is great significance given to someone's first love. In many cases, these two end up being mated together for life."

Raven suddenly began to understand. "It's similar here, but I don't think it's that extreme."

"Annie was a part of Robin's life long before either of us knew him. She has the hoynosh for Robin." Starfire said sadly.

Raven smiled at the irony. "Starfire, things are different on this planet. On this world, Robin's feelings determine what he does. The fact Annie knew him before we did doesn't make a difference if he doesn't feel anything for her."

"It's obvious that he DOES feel for her though." Starfire argued.

"He might not be in love with her like he is with us." Raven said trying to calm the girl, though her words did little to comfort her own uneasiness. "Either way, we'll just have to wait and see."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

Raven landed in the parking lot of the factory. _Why is it always a factory?_ She thought to herself as Starfire joined her shortly before Robin pulled up with Annie in tow.

"So this is the place?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah, Slade will have to come here if he wants to raise the army he wants to build." Robin answered.

"I'm already here Robin." A voice called to them over the intercom system. All of them looked up in surprise at the speaker. Slade had beaten them there.

"Everyone be ready." Robin commanded.

"Welcome to my future Robin. I'll be waiting for you in the center of this little workshop of wonders. Bring all the friends you want, you can't stop me now, you're too late." The voice of Slade said before one of Robin's explosives silenced the speaker.

"Can he still hear us?" Annie asked.

"Everyone get in a circle and hold hands." Raven ordered. She grimaced a little at how quickly Annie got Robin's hand and she got the other. Starfire said nothing as she was stuck between the two girls.

_Now we can discuss this without him hearing anything._ Raven thought to her friends. _Don't use your mouth just think of what you want to say._

_We have to get to my father. _ Annie replied in her mind. _He'll be the one controlling the army Slade is making. If we can stop my father, the rest of the army will be powerless._

_Sounds like a plan. How do we get to him though?_ Raven asked.

_He'll be with Slade. If we find Slade, we'll find him._ Robin thought with absolute certainty. _Above all else Annie, stay away from your father._

Annie nodded and Raven watched in shock as Annie's clothing wavered before turning into a uniform identical to Robin's with the exception of a large 'A' where Robin's 'R' usually went. Starfire looked ready to cry. Raven couldn't blame her really, she knew the tall alien slept in the uniform she'd swiped from Robin just like Raven did on occasion. They _were_ comfortable after all.

The band of girls plus one set out to infiltrate the factory. They crept in through a service entrance and quietly walked around trying to find some clue as to the whereabouts of Slade in the large edifice. That was when the welcoming party arrived.

Robots poured from their surroundings as Slade's henchmen attacked the intruders into their domain. Raven lashed out with her powers and she noticed an unusually large barrage of star bolts from her kundogi. Robin himself flipped and dodged in his usual fashion landing devastating blows on his opponents and sending them flying. His staff quickly came into action as well as he pounded robots to greasy scrap metal.

"ANNIE!" Raven heard him yell and Raven turned to see one of the robots barreling down on the timid girl.

Robin moved to intercept it, but was too slow as it threw a punch at the girl. Raven felt her stomach churn as the fist punctured the girls skull and came out on the other side. Instead of blood however, nothing came out from what should have been a fatal wound.

Raven and Starfire watched in horrified awe as Annie's body seemed to turn into liquid mud and morphed; where before the robot had been standing there with its fist in Annie's head, it now found itself in a wicked arm lock by the same girl that it had intended to kill.

Annie pulled back one of her small ineffectual fists to strike the intrusive machine, and as the rest of them watched, her fist became a solid sphere of steel which quickly rendered the robot's head a reasonable facsimile to the state the her own had only recently been in. This time however, Raven was reasonably sure that there wasn't going to be any shape shifting.

"THAT'S your power?!" Starfire asked in disbelief.

"I've been practicing." Annie said sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

Raven just shook her had and turned back to the fight. Her dark magic ripped a few more robots in half as star bolts continued their barrage. She knew they were going to win. It was Slade's usual tactics. Wear down the opponent so that he'd have an easier time of it when the final confrontation came.

Raven had to admit though that it did hurt watching Annie fight back to back with Robin. The two of them were quite similar in their fighting styles. Robin was obviously more skilled than the girl since he could easily take out four to five robots in the time it took her to finish one, but they were both close in fighters. Annie's metamorphic abilities made her practically indestructible to the robot henchmen, while being able to harden her body made her strikes as deadly as those from one of Beast Boy's dinosaur forms.

The four heroes quickly finished off the rest of the robots and headed deeper into the bowels of the chemical factory. Raven tried to listen as Robin and Annie were talking.

"So you can do the same things as your dad?" Robin was asking as they ran.

"Almost, he's still a lot better than I am at manipulating his body, but I can do a lot of the same things. I can make myself as hard as steel, and as soft as liquid. That's how I escaped to get a message to you. Neither my father nor Slade realized I'd learned to use my powers." Annie said keeping pace with the athletic boy wonder as Raven and Starfire flew along behind.

"So why did your father let you go anyway?" Robin was asking.

"I… was an experiment. Slade wanted someone to experiment on, and my father didn't want to go through the process. Since he and I have the same composition… they used me." Annie said with pain still evident in her voice.

Raven heard Starfire gasp in horror, and she could feel the anger pouring into her from her shared bond with Robin. For her to feel this much intense emotion off of him must mean that he was indeed seething inside. Raven was sure of thing as they flew. Slade had been killed before, and if Robin got the chance he'd probably try to make it stick this time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Finally, after searching the interior, they found what they were looking for. The stairs led down into the basement of the factory, large vats and tanks holding all manner of industrial chemicals lined the walls and as they finally descended to the floor they came into the main chamber. The room was dimly lit, but in its center there was a large open tank in the floor where rested what looked to be a humongous pile of goop. Currently, the goop was staring at them.

"I see you've returned little one." The sludge said to Annie as she neared the pool.

"I must say you've looked better Clayface." Robin commented.

Raven looked around at the shadows. "Guys, we aren't alone."

"How perceptive of you, Raven." Slade said stepping from the shadows.

"We're here to destroy you father and put an end to this madness." Annie said vehemently.

"Madness? Are you calling your family madness?" Clayface said with a raspy laugh.

"Family?" Annie said aghast.

"Of course. Why did you think I experimented on you?" Slade said nonchalantly. "Clayface and I have been making you a bunch of little brothers and sisters." The titans watched in horror as smaller versions of Annie stepped from the shadows, each wearing one of Slade's apprentice uniforms. I found apprentices with free will to be a bit too much of a trifle so I thought I'd try some who were mindless automatons. Each of these creations answers only to Clayface, who in turn answers only to me. You'll have to excuse their current size. We haven't been able to manufacture enough material to make enough bodies just yet."

Raven crouched ready to dodge and begin fighting. Slade merely chuckled behind his mask as his new minions surged forward. Raven let loose, tearing apart the nearest clay creations with her dark magic. However as soon as she would tear them apart they would merely reattach themselves together, or worse, to a different body to continue the attack.

Starfire wasn't fairing much better. The Clayface clones were proving to be as resilient as Annie in a fight, and were apparently just as capable as close in fighters if not more so.

Raven began to be pushed back as the mindless automatons charged forward with no fear for their safety of well being. No matter how many she felled, they always managed to recuperate and surge forward again.

Robin struggled, but the most effective fighter was Annie. After only a moment, it was obvious that the golems were avoiding her. When she finally connected to one of them, Raven understood why.

Annie absorbed one of her smaller siblings into her body, making her grow as the added mass strengthened her. With a smile she set into the fray against her 'brothers and sisters'. This was when Slade intervened. "Now, now, we can't have that now can we?"

Slade attacked throwing explosive after explosive into the girl, blowing chunks away to be reabsorbed by his army. Raven was about to come to her aid when a tidal wave of goop washed over her. Air left her lungs as she felt constricted. She was about to pass out when her vision cleared and she realized she'd been immobilized in a seething mass of clay which pinned her arms and gagged her to prevent her from using her magic. Using what she could muster, her dark magic would rip into her bonds only to be replaced by new material as quickly as the old was lost.

Starfire was apparently similarly bound, while Robin was simply held by two more golems who looked like they'd absorbed enough material from the fight to be older brothers to Annie.

Annie was the only one left standing, and she looked hurt and tired from the explosives Slade had used on her. Slade was of course gloating. "Give it up girl. You can't beat all of us."

"Bring her to me, so that I can reabsorb her. She has been loose for too long. It's time I did away with her permanently." Clayface said to Slade. Raven's eye went wide as she realized that Annie wasn't just Clayface's daughter but a _part_ of him.

Annie seemed to shrink, caving in on herself in defeat. She finally knelt down in front of the vat that contained the floating blob. "Father, can I please just have one last request?"

"I am feeling magnanimous since we've finally won. Speak, what is your request." Clayface said in triumph.

"Can I kiss Robin just one last time?" Annie asked simply.

Clayface seemed to consider the idea and then nodded. Or at least his face dipped lower on the amorphous mound which was his head. "It will make his look of despair that much more amusing. The sight of his crushed spirit kept me warm on the cold nights of my imprisonment."

Raven felt a pang in her heart as Annie approached Robin. Robin was nearly beside himself. "Annie, don't. I lost you once, don't do this again."

"It'll be alright Robin." Annie said sadly. Her two brothers cautiously moved away from her as she embraced Robin. Raven couldn't bear to watch her kiss Robin and found Starfire looking away as well.

Raven looked back up as Annie stepped away from the boy wonder and her two brothers each grabbed him as he struggled furiously to try to escape from their grasp. "ANNIE, DON'T DO IT, PLEASE!" Robin shouted desperately.

Annie looked over her shoulder at the boy wonder one last time and then turned to her father. "Are you ready?"

"Come to me, my daughter." Clayface grumbled.

Annie stepped forward toward the tank, but as she got to the edge she reared back and before anyone could react, she hurled one of Robin's explosive boomerangs in the air. Slade and Clayface instinctively ducked, but the boomerang hadn't been headed for them. Instead, high above it struck a huge chemical tank, rupturing the side from the blast and sending a stream of corrosive acid cascading into the tank below.

"Even you cannot survive your body being diluted and dissolved father." Annie said darkly as Clayface screamed helplessly as his body began to dissolve. "Now you die, like you should have a long time ago."

"NO! SLADE, DO SOMETHING!" Clayface screamed in panic as the corrosive liquid began to dissolve his body.

Slade looked at the dissolving form of his henchman and watched as his army suddenly began to loose cohesion. Annie stood at their center gathering their bodies into her own. Then, he ran.

He ran for about forty feet before a mud-like tentacle wrapped around his neck jerking him off his feet and pulling him through the air helplessly toward Annie. "You and I have unfinished business." The girl sadly as anger flared in her eyes.

"THIS IS FOR TORTURING ME!" Annie shouted as the tentacle whipped Slade forward toward Annie. With nothing to move against, Slade helplessly flew towards his attacker, spinning around to attempt to kick the maddened girl.

Slade never landed his kick as he encountered Annie's arm as it extended out from her body at amazing speed congealing into a solid steel battering ram that caught the villain in the chest and didn't stop until it crashed him into the far wall.

Raven heard bones give off sickening cracks and snaps as Annie slammed her tormentor with all her strength. Finally, as Clayface's tortured screams began to fade the sludge holding her in place began to unravel. Raven quickly broke free as Starfire blasted her own bonds to pieces. Robin had disengaged himself from his melting captors as Annie rejoined them.

"He is dead?" Starfire said looking into the brackish fluid left in the tank.

Raven looked away from the pool to where Annie had turned Slade into a human, or in his case inhuman, nail. It really didn't surprise her that he was nowhere to be seen. "Slade's gone." She reported getting ready to join Robin in his usual mad hunt for the villain.

Robin however wasn't running, or saying anything. For once, Slade was forgotten and he was looking at Annie. Raven followed his gaze and realized with horror that Annie was also melting.

"What is happening?" Starfire asked in panic.

"Father's power was all that gave me form." Annie said sadly.

"Annie, you didn't have to do this. We could have found another way." Robin said desperately.

"No Robin, I had to stop him. He's hurt too many people. I couldn't allow him to go on hurting people, even if it meant this." Annie said as her form began to droop.

Raven reached out with her magic, trying to stabilize her form. Even as she tried she could feel her body slipping slowly from her grasp. "I can't hold it Robin!"

"Let me go Robin." Annie said seriously.

"What, how can you say that? I won't let you go! I'll take your body back to the tower! I'll find a way for you to have your own form!" Robin cried grabbing the girl.

"No Robin, the same thing that could bring me back might bring back my father and this army that Slade wanted to create." Annie argued.

"I can't just let you die, and don't you _dare_ tell me you're not real again." Robin said to the girl.

"I wish I could. I know you've thought for all these years that you failed to save me, but you shouldn't feel guilty. I chose to save you then, and this is what I've chosen now. I chose this. No one else chose it for me. Robin, when Raven helped us to speak with our minds I felt something. You've found people that love you, just like I love you. Don't destroy your future by dwelling on your past. Let. Me. Go." Annie implored him. Her body had now shrunk and Robin cradled her melting from as Raven desperately tried to hold it together.

"I don't know if I can. You'll always be a part of me." Robin confessed.

"And as long as I'm a part of you, I'll live on." Annie countered. "Starfire, Raven, I'm sorry if my coming upset the two of you. Take good care of Robin for me."

"We will." Starfire promised as tears flowed freely down the emotional alien's cheeks.

"Let go of your power Raven, I'm ready to leave." Annie said in determination.

Raven looked at Robin for what he might say but the boy only looked down at Annie as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. Raven started to speak, but instead simply released her power.

Annie slipped from existence and the pool that had been her body oozed from the fingers of the boy wonder.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Raven was unaccustomed to driving Robin's motorcycle. She had therefore ridden very slowly back to the tower. After Annie's passing Starfire had suggested they take Robin home, as he hadn't said a word and appeared to be in shock. Starfire had flown him back while Raven had tackled getting the bike back in one piece.

In retrospect, she could have attempted levitating the thing or even teleporting it, but as raw as her emotion were right now she doubted she'd be able to have that much control over her powers.

Raven walked into the living room where she found Starfire looking over at Robin worriedly. "How is he?"

"He hasn't moved from the window since we returned. All he does is stare out at the ocean." Starfire said quietly. "I don't know what to do."

Raven nodded and walked over to Robin to see what kind of mess his head was probably in. Through the link between the two of them she could tell his emotions were a turbulent torrent threatening to destroy his heart and mind. On the surface however he was his usual stoic self.

Raven walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder to make him turn to look at her. "You might fool everyone else, and even Starfire, but I know what you're feeling."

Robin's face contorted as he began to loose the last shred of control he had over his features. Annoyance gave way to anger and finally he broke like a dam holding back a tidal wave too strong to be kept at bay. Robin dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Raven's waist and burying his face into her stomach.

Raven held onto him and rocked him as uncontrollable sobs spilled from him as he wept bitterly. Raven pulled him away only long enough to tear his mask from his face so his tears could flow freely.

Robin howled. It was a more terrible sound than nearly any that had been heard in the tower. Robin screamed in a primal howl that was all he had to express the rawest form of his impotent fury and grief. Raven wanted to hold her ears to hold out the terrible sound of his tragic pain, but instead she embraced it and held him close as he sobbed and gave vent to his pain into her waiting arms.

"Batman was right; sometimes there are no happy endings." Robin wailed.

Raven held him and pulled his face up to look at her. "There can be Robin, if you're strong enough to look for it. Annie chose her own path, and was happy with her decision. We have to respect what she felt she had to do."

Robin's sobbing started to subside as he struggled to regain control of his normally stoic demeanor, but Raven could still feel his pain and pulled him close tightly. "Don't… Don't stop grieving for her. You won't be helping yourself and she deserves your mourning. She deserves to know how much you care." Raven said urgently.

This seemed to release whatever more reservations Robin had and he collapsed once again letting the pain letting the pain drip free from his heart with every tear. Raven lost track of how long she stood there comforting her love in her arms as she watched the sun set. Her muscles ached, but in the end she managed to hold Robin until the tears subsided and he passed out from exhaustion in her arms.

"We should put him to bed." Raven heard Starfire whisper into her ear from behind, trying not to disturb Robin's time of grief.

Raven nodded and the two girls gently lifted the boy to his feet. He was so exhausted from his exertions and his spent emotions he barely had the energy to move his legs, let alone walk.

Starfire looped one arm across her shoulders and Raven took the other arm and the two of them began to carry him through the halls to his room. Raven walked along staring at the boy she was helping to carry, and wondering how he was going to be in the morning.

When Starfire stopped, it didn't register to Raven where she was until they set Robin down on the bed. "Starfire, this is my room!" Raven said whispering urgently.

"I know. I'll be right back." Starfire whispered as she zipped from the room silently. Raven didn't know how silent they really needed to be seeing as Robin was asleep on her bed and fairly unconscious.

Starfire returned a moment later with Robin's pajamas. "He'll need these to sleep in."

"You can't be serious about him sleeping in here. It's not exactly the most soothing room in the tower." Raven said incredulously.

"It is not the room that he needs to soothe him." Starfire said sadly as she put her hand on Raven's shoulder. "He needs you right now."

Raven stood there stunned as Starfire handed her the pajamas before lifting Robin up so they could change him for bed. The two of them stripped him to his boxers and put his pajamas on him before settling him under the thick blankets of Raven's bed.

Raven turned to Starfire aghast as her own shock at what Starfire was suggesting started to wear off. "What do I do?"

"Just what you've already been doing." Starfire said sadly. "Hold him, comfort him, and remind him that we're here for him."

"Star, I don't know if I can do this alone. What happened in the living room was the heat of the moment. This is… horizontal." Raven said stupidly. "Why don't you stay with us, like that time in Freeze's lair."

Starfire just shook her head and turned to leave. "I can't. I can't stand to see him this way. I can't handle my own emotions enough to help him with his own. He needs _you_ right now Raven. I'll talk to you in the morning."

With that, Starfire was gone and Raven was left alone with a sleeping boy who was emotionally vulnerable in her bed. Raven was sure she wouldn't be returning either. Whatever happened tonight in this room Starfire had left between her Robin and these four walls.

Raven looked at Robin sleeping. He was so handsome when he let his face relax and stopped trying to be so serious all the time. Raven wondered if that was one of the parts that Starfire found attractive.

Raven gathered her own pajamas and went into her bathroom to change. This was totally different from keeping Robin from freezing to death. This was her making a conscious decision to sleep with the boy she loved because he needed someone to hold. Raven looked at herself in the mirror. She looked worried, but she had to be confident she was ready for this. Tonight was all about helping Robin, and no matter what he might ask of her if he woke up, she was going to do everything in her power to help him.

Raven turned out the light and stepped lightly over to the bed where Robin was sleeping. She could already tell he was going to have nightmares through the night. She gingerly picked up the covers and slid into the bed next to him. It was the first time in her life that she'd ever come into a warm bed.

As she settled in, she realized she only had the one pillow and he was currently sleeping on it. Raven instead laid her head down on his chest and tried to get comfortable. It was going to be a long night after all.

She didn't know how long she lay there before the rapid beat of Robin's heart announced his awakening long before her emotional bond let her know that he was having a nightmare.

"NO!" Robin shouted, sitting up in bed. Raven had barely had enough time to move in order to keep from being catapulted from her own bed.

"It's okay Robin, it was just a dream." Raven said putting a calming hand on his shoulders.

Robin trembled under her touch and shuddered. "No, it wasn't a dream. It was a memory." Then Robin began taking stock of his surroundings. "Where am I?"

"You're in my room." Raven said shyly thanking the darkness for hiding her blush. "Starfire and I thought that you didn't need to be alone."

"I shouldn't…" Robin said trying to get up. Raven however still had his shoulders.

"Yes, you should." Raven disagreed. "I know you're in pain. I'm here to share it with you and to help you. Please don't push me away Robin. I… I love you too."

The two of them sat there for a long time, staring at each other in the dark. Finally when Robin moved toward Raven she fought of the butterflies in her stomach. She had promised herself that whatever Robin wanted from her tonight to comfort himself, she was going to give it freely.

Robin gently hugged her close and then gently pushed her back onto the bed. She felt the warmth of her pillow beneath her head as she lay there with him looking down on her. As Robin moved his hand to touch her she closed her eyes, ready to receive whatever attentions he desired.

All that he did was brush her cheek gently with his fingers. Raven opened her eyes expecting Robin to perhaps explore further, but his sad face told her the contrary. Instead, he merely moved down a little and as Raven watched him he dipped his head to kiss her good night and then placed his head against her breast as if he were listening to her heartbeat, and wrapped his arms around her torso.

"I'm afraid I might wake you up again tonight." Robin said in his melancholy.

"I know. It's okay."

"Good night Rae."

"Good night Rob."

"And Raven…"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue.

Raven woke with a start the next morning. She looked around desperately when she found the pleasant weight that had spent the night against her breast gone. Raven sighed as she looked at the clock. It was late in the morning. Robin was probably already up and gone by now, returned to their somewhat normal routine.

Raven swung her feet over the side of the bed when she noticed something at the foot of the bed. Robin's pajamas lay neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Raven stepped over and gently lifted them to her nose and inhaled Robin's scent.

The pajamas still reeked of his sweat. They hadn't had a quiet night. Every time he awoke though, she would whisper to him and gently pull him back to her breast where he would eventually doze back off to sleep. These pajamas needed to be washed for sure, so why would he…

A sudden realization struck Raven that Robin wouldn't have left them there unless he intended return for them, or perhaps use them again. Raven looked down at the pajamas and quietly laid them back down before stripping out of her own and putting them next to his. If she knew the boy wonder this was his vague way of asking if he would be welcomed into her bed again tonight to fend off his nightmares. If he came back here before she did, he'd be able to see her answer here as well.

Raven showered and dressed before heading off into the tower. She didn't find anyone about despite it being late morning, so she headed up to the roof. She really didn't know whether it was to meditate, to look for Robin, or to just spend a few hours staring at the sea, but she was inexplicably drawn upward to the roof.

Raven arrived to find Starfire sitting on the edge watching the island below. She didn't really stir as Raven joined her.

"He's been down there all morning." Starfire noted.

Raven looked down at Robin as he trained on the obstacle course throwing his entire being into his workout. "That's how he deals with things."

Starfire didn't ask what had happened during the night in Raven's room, and she suspected she never would. Raven just sat with her and watched Robin try his best to exhaust himself, hopefully to the point more dreams wouldn't come. It shocked her when Starfire started to speak again.

"How do you do it Raven?" Starfire asked.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked in confusion.

"How do you cope with so many feelings that are dark?" Starfire asked never looking up from where Robin was training.

"You get used to them." Raven said simply. "The trick is to never become _too_ accustomed to them."

"I don't think Robin has learned this." Starfire noted.

Raven had to grant her that one. They boy seemed to try to draw strength from suffering, not unlike his mentor. Raven returned to watching her love and thought back to the previous night. This must have been what saddened Starfire so much. "You haven't been to bed yet have you?" Raven said as more of a statement than a question.

"I couldn't sleep." Starfire admitted. "I do not think that I am ready."

"Ready for what?" Raven asked in slight alarm. Did she think that she'd slept with Robin to comfort him? Did something about her relationship with her as her kundogi somehow stipulate that now she had to do the same?

"I am not ready… for Robin." Starfire said sadly. "There are many things about his feelings I do not understand. I cannot help him or reach him like you can Raven. I do not think that I will challenge you as my kundogi, at least not for a while. He needs you too much right now and I can't help him with these feelings I do not understand."

It hurt to see Starfire this upset. She knew that it must be killing the girl to watch Robin and not be able to reach out and comfort him. "He will need you too Starfire."

"How? Even if I bring joy into his life, those are feelings that he can have with his friends and not just with a friend who is also a girl." Starfire said passionately looking at Raven.

"You remember what I said about becoming too accustomed to the darker emotions? Starfire, I can't help him there. I can't make him see the joy in his life because I have a hard enough time with it myself. You bring light into both of our lives. I'd hate to think what kind of man he would be without you to give him hope." Raven said to her friend. It dawned on her that she was trying to convince her greatest romantic rival not to break up with the boy she was in love with, but right now she was seeing her friend who needed just as much comfort as Robin had needed the night before.

"Thank you friend Raven, you have made me feel better, but I will still leave Robin to you for a while. I think he will need you much for a few days." Starfire said glumly.

_And nights…_ Raven thought to herself, but judiciously decided not to make Starfire feel any worse. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything, you know it." Starfire said nodding.

"You'll cheer me up too whenever it becomes necessary for you to get Robin to look at the good things in life again." Raven said seriously.

"I promise!" Starfire said hugging her with a giggle. "I am glad you are my kundogi."

"Yeah, me too." Raven agreed.

**The End.**

**A/N: I started to make this a trilogy, but I think I have one more story left to write. This one was kind of dark, so my next one will be more comedy. I intend to have it feature my favorite Teen Titans villain Control Freak and I intend to call it 'Control Freak Rerun'.**


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